Snake Oil or Miracle Drug? Keep an Eye on Your Medications

Every day we see or hear about drugs and medicines that are going to make us smarter, prettier, stronger, and/or cure all that ails us. “Do they really work?” is not the main question that needs to be asked.

What You Should Be Asking

What are the side effects?

Is the manufacturer telling the whole truth about the testing and results?

Is the drug being marketed for a purpose for which it was not intended (known as off-label marketing, which is illegal)?

Drug Issues In The News

A supplement called Prevagen, which has helped propel its manufacturer, Quincy Bioscience, into the ranks of fastest-growing companies in the U.S., shows evidence of serious side effects and should be marketed and regulated as a drug, says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration […] Read Full Article

The anti-nausea drug Zofran (ondansetron) has been linked to doubled risks of heart defects and serious illness in newborns, according to recent research and a newspaper investigation. What type of health problems and birth defects have been linked to Zofran? Morning sickness usually occurs in the first trimester of pregnancy, which is when fetuses are […] Read Full Article

A duo of well-known health gurus has touted the benefits of a supplement called Rhodiola as a fatigue and stress fighting “tonic.” Further research revealed that all studies supporting these claims were conducted in former Soviet republics.[…]Read Full Article

The FDA says Reumofan Plus, a dietary supplement manufactured in Mexico but sold widely on the internet and at some retail outlets and flea markets, contains unlisted ingredients that could seriously harm users. […]Read Full Article

How Are Drug Manufacturers Legally Responsible?

Whether the drug is over-the-counter, mail order or prescription only, manufacturers are responsible for ensuring their products are safe. They also have a responsibility to explain the risks and benefits of their products in ways people can understand, and to continue to evaluate their products for safety as more people use them. When companies fail in these responsibilities, they can be held legally responsible to the people they hurt.

Failure to Warn—While all medications have certain anticipated side effects, a drug manufacturer is responsible, legally, for reporting any known risks associated with its drugs.

Inadequate Warning—A drug manufacturer’s warning may be considered inadequate if it doesn’t reflect true risks to patients, omits new information about risks, or is presented in such a way that it doesn’t convey the importance of the information.

Negligence—A manufacturer can be accused of negligence, even of intentional or malicious conduct, if it fails to meet reasonable standards of testing, safe production, delivery or handling of a drug or device.

False Marketing—Over-promotion and aggressive marketing and advertising efforts by the manufacturer can lead to more people being injured than otherwise would have occurred. Also, false marketing occurs when a company markets its products to doctors and the public for uses for which the product wasn’t originally approved.

Tainted or Contaminated Drugs or Devices—Manufacturers that let factories become dirty or processes become faulty can be held liable for adverse product reactions.

Comments (36)

Times have changed, you’re living in the past because today’s FDA has not only lost its credibility but has been clearly delineated time and time again as being dangerous to human health. Aspartame and flouride are just two examples of what the FDA supports.

It’s as clear as day FDA is nothing more than a type of mafia operating on behalf of corporate interests. So when you attack a product, we don’t at all take what the FDA claims seriously. The agency has completely 100% lost all credibility. Because the FDA is attacking Prevegen, I’m going to use the product.

Cheryl needs to read some of the non-FDA reports on Prevagen written in some cases by those with an education in that type of product. It has limited published positive results and most imply that it is somewhat like a placebo.

Have to agree with Cheryl. FDA doesnt have much credibility lately. Every other commercial is a lawsuit against a drug that was FDA approved and now people are sick or dying from it. Consumers must be smart and do their research. Im sure they want Prevagin to be a drug so the big drug companies can manufacturer it and triple if not more, the price.

My wife’s memory became so bad that we could not find her glasses in the house . . . later we found them in the freezer . . . she would cry because she was losing her memory . . . she has been taking Prevagen for a year and a half and her memory is back to normal . . . she is a retired university professor of biology and is very intelligent . . . we can only say Thanks God for Prevagen . . . Clancy DelForge Ed.D . . .

Talk to your neurologist and research in New England Journal of Medicine and Harvard Medical School or Mayo clinic newsletter/library before you take any brain supplement or medicine.I am an MS (40 years) patient. Good luck.

Oh, and by the way, I just bought a bottle of Prevagen and received it yesterday. I took my first capsule last night before work. I hate to say it, but I actually think I felt more alert already. I work the night shift. I only bought a 30 day supply and am testing it out. I will let you all know how it goes…

Making tablets or pills is not that difficult. The Chinese, the Egyptians, the Indians, the Romans and many others were already making tons of pills several thousand years ago. The most difficult and expensive part of the pill is what’s “in the pill”. Anything being advertised as health enhancer and sold at a profit should first and foremost be proven safe and effective prior to being sold in the open market. Otherwise, how is that any better than snake oil? It’s unfortunate that billions of dollars are expended by those in desperate need for a panacea without such proof being made available.

Prevalent is a protein. A protein is like a chain of amino acids. Think of prevagen as a train and the amino acids are the cars of that train.

Your gastrointestinal tract does not absorb proteins. If it did your immune system would recognize it as foreign and it would cause an allergic response.
The way you body uses proteins if to break them into individual amino acids before absorbing them.
So all proteins are just a source of amino acids.
The same amino acids are in all proteins.
The amino acids in prevagen are no different than anything else you eat.

Drug manufacturers are among the largest profiteers in the world and everyone knows the FDA is controlled by them and the corporate food manufacturers (who poison our children everyday with chemicals and GMO products). WAKEE UP PEOPLE!!! Congress itself is nothing more than a corporate battle ground! Using FDA warnings to support an argument only gets suspicion from me.
I would not take anything that does not have plenty of unbiased research to show it is safe. However, unbiased research is rare due to the drug companies “funding” all the universities that do the research…let the buyer beware.

Prevagen appears to have remarkable potential but I agree that it needs to go through the FDA processes for a new drug application (NDA). Perhaps some type of expedited clinical trial, or a large crossover clinical trial, may provide relief for the epidemic of neurodegenerative disorders affecting the elderly. In general, supplements should be forced to prove their safety and efficacy if they are going to make significant health claims.

Is there “ANY” product that REALLY helps with memory
loss ???????????
I am 77yrs old and do indeed suffer from memory loss.
Golden years is a joke..
I dont care whether the product is a drug, a supplement,
a witches brew,etc
I want it to WORK!!!!!
Dick

Anyone heard of Sativa a natural sugar. The FDA chased the origianal guy wanting to sell it as a natural sugar but is was only approved as a nutritional supplement. They went after him in the US so he moved to Equador where it was perfectly legeal and was extradited by the FDA back to the US for prosecuting. It is now on every shelf in every grocery store and is more safe than all other sugar substitutes. The FDA went after him because it was competition for Spenda and Nutrasweet. The FDA raids organic raw milk farms almost like a drug raid. They come in like a SWAT team, confiscate everything, destroy the milk and the milk products for absolutely no reason other than Big Ag controls them too. They want us to buy the discusting, puss ridden, sick meat produced the big Corporate Agriculture which represents about 80% of our food. Foxes are definitely in charge of the hen houses in America

Cheryl’s response June 20, 2013 indicates she is going to use the product. Do we have feedback from Cheryl regarding her experience? It’s been over20 months since her post….anxious to hear back from her…I too recently saw a TV ad for Prevagen.

I am a old man with memory loss due to ACV,i read both side,and i am a little scare to use Prevagen…….the main reason is that i don’t see any serious medical studies regarding this product and it could be dangerous for health…….your health and my health and health of many,many people

So i am writing my email add and asking,if any of you can direct me to the reading of a serious analyse of Prevagen if possible by a medical person,so we all can avoid bad reactions

If Prevalent is a protein (#7) which is a chain of amino acids and broken down and absorbed as such in the gastrointestinal tract, then why is the FDA so concerned about it? If it is a placebo, then for some people its effect is nonetheless real as well as harmless. As compared to earlier times, current stricter laws governing the ethical aspects of using humans in medical research has resulted in the current state of affairs: humans will create and partake of drugs/supplements on their own in un-designed, population-wide studies. When enough adverse effects (or non-effects) reach a threshold noticeable by the public, then individuals can make more informed choices regarding their approach to that drug/supplement.

I am 73, for the last year I have seen a deterioration of my short term memory, such as walking into a room and not remembering why I was there, or misplacing my glasses.

Seen the ad on TV, bought a bottle which both my wife and I share. In four days I noticed that the events had declined, and now after two weeks I rarely have the same occurrence of those events, my wife on the other had experienced less improvement, but still an improvement.

Will continue to use it as long as it continues to work, not much else to say.

I agree with Cheryl…..my first thought was ‘well if the FDA is after the makers of prevagen, there must be something that actually works in it’. Ha now that goes to show you how much credibility they have lost in my eyes. I want to do the exact opposite of whatever the FDA recommends.

My mother takes Prevagen and our doctor just approved it for my father, as well. The difference in my mother is remarkable. She has Alzheimer’s disease and has been on Prevagen since a friend recommended it a number of years ago. Her mind is much clearer, she doesn’t wander, and she is much less violent on Prevagen. She was hospitalized and the doctors would not let her have Prevagen because it is not FDA approved. She reverted so quickly that the doctors reversed themselves and recommended that we give her the Prevagen while in the hospital. She doesn’t take her medication herself so she didn’t know she was off of it. So much for the placebo effect! Once back on it she, once again, regained portions of her memory, calmed down, and stopped wandering. All of us have different chemistry so what works for one person may not work for all. Prevagen definitely works for my parents.

Big Pharma has the FDA in its back pocket. Many drugs approved by the FDA are nothing more than some form of plant phytonutrient with a few additives and a fancy name to enable private labeling and patents. The FDA is just a bully agency that is typical of a too big government with out of control regulations. If an individual wants to take a vitamin or supplement that they feel works for them, then so be it. If you only want to take those approved by the FDA, then you can live by that, but it should not be the rule for all. There are many excellent nutritional supplements that give much better results with less side effects than many of the FDA approved drugs.

I took this for a week. At the end of the week, I had red itchy blotches all over my neck. I stopped taking and eventually they cleared up. Just to be sure, I took one the other day and this happened again. I will never take another one. Maybe I am allergic to jellyfish. Just a warning

I just wanted to say, why would anybody trust anything the FDA would say. Heck I sit and watch drug commercials about new meds just come out. They tell you about side effects. Has anyone ever noticed the side effects are already the problems you already have that you are trying to get help for. There are way to many drugs coming out the FDA has not even looked at but approved . Please gives some of us a break. We are not all that gullble.I don’t trust anybody in authority over america. Too much proof they don’t care about us. Only $$$$$$$.

PREVAGEN Works for me remarkable improvement in my memory within days of taking first doses.
This article is just another scare tactic to detour the unsuspecting sheep away from potentially helpful “Alternative” remedies. Drug companies hate it when their potential profits for addictive and harmful products go somewhere else. Crying shame Waaaaa!
Get a mind of your own people..

Apoaequorin Works for me remarkable improvement in my memory within days of taking first doses.
This article is just another scare tactic to detour the unsuspecting sheep away from potentially helpful “Alternative” remedies. Drug companies hate it when their potential profits for addictive and harmful products go somewhere else. Crying shame Waaaaa!
Get a mind of your own people..

The Big Drug companies have a revolving door between
corporate people hired by FDA. Check their background and
you will see the “foxes in the hen house”.
Trust any government agency at your own peril! Especially
IRS, FDA, ATF, all government employee leaches!

According to the manufacturer, the active ingredient in Prevagen is a protien. Protiens are broken into amino acids by digestion, therfore they would be indistinguishable from protien from a pork chop,eg.. Additionally, neither protiens nor amino acids cross the blood-brain barrier. The active ingredient would have to cross the blood brain barrier to have the effect they claim.

Thank goodness they let you reply to your own comments. Of course amino acids cross the blood-brain barrier, but whole protiens, if my recollection is correct, are not allowed to pass. Also, they effect they claim could occur if the active ingredient is excluded from the CNS, via placebo effect…..which is probably a very real phenomenon.

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